World Health Organization

News about World Health Organization, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 30, 2015

World Health Organization reports Guinea and Sierra Leone have had seven new Ebola cases in past week, lowest weekly total of new infections in over a year; cautions that there is still substantial risk of outbreaks due to thousands who were exposed in region. MORE

Jul. 8, 2015

Independent panel concludes World Health Organization is still unprepared to handle public health emergency more than year after Ebola epidemic swept Africa; report faults organization for being slow to act, financially unprepared and unwilling to take bold action when governments are unwilling to act on their own. MORE

Jul. 4, 2015

World Health Organization posts report on its website finding that almost 200 people had been in contact with teen who died of Ebola in late June 2015 in Liberia, first confirmed case since country was declared Ebola-free in early May. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

United States Chamber of Commerce and its overseas affiliates are powerful ally of tobacco industry, working around world to battle antismoking laws; supporting tobacco lobby is priority for world's largest trade group; industry faces peril from global treaty backed by World Health Organization, as well as new flurry of legislation worldwide. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Joint report by the World Health Organization and Unicef finds that one in three people worldwide, or some 2.4 billion, live without sanitation facilities; suggest dirty drinking water and open defecation, among other causes, are set to subvert global gains in child survival rates and other health measurements. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Jun. 14, 2015

Study conducted by World Health Organization and South Korea finds South Korean government's failure to quickly share information with public and establish efficient disease-control system worsened outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

World Health Organization and World Bank release report finding that at least 400 million people worldwide do not have access to essential health services. MORE

May. 31, 2015

Editorial welcomes major federal study finding that people infected with HIV should get treatment as soon as possible, regardless of how they feel; suggests study poses moral question of whether organizations around world can find will to protect millions who would benefit from this information; urges World Health Organization to recommend treatment for all infected people in updated treatment guidelines. MORE

May. 28, 2015

Airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen result in one-day death toll of 80 people; World Health Organization reports that nearly 2,000 Yemenis have died in conflict since March, and that 8.6 million people out of population of 24 million are in urgent need of medical help for war-related injuries and common medical issues. MORE

May. 26, 2015

United Nations member states agree to World Health Organization plan for addressing problem of antibiotic-resistant superbugs; plan emphasizes development of new antibiotics, surveillance of resistance and better control of existing drugs. MORE

May. 20, 2015

World Health Organization reports nearly fourfold increase of new Ebola cases in Guinea and Sierra Leone in latest week of reporting, to about 35; say some risky practices like unsafe burials of Ebola victims contributes to rise. MORE

May. 19, 2015

World Health Organization official Dr Margaret Chan, at meeting of World Health Assembly in Geneva, proposes measures to overhaul organization's emergency response system to better address crises like Africa's Ebola epidemic. MORE

May. 12, 2015

United Nations preliminary report finds that World Health Organization's response to 2014 Ebola outbreak was inadequate and recommends overhaul of WHO finances and new structure capable of better emergency response. MORE

May. 10, 2015

World Health Organization declares Liberia free of Ebola, making country first of three most ravaged by disease to bring formal end to epidemic; organization cautions that it is still very concerned about Guinea and Sierra Leone. MORE

May. 9, 2015

World Health Organization releases guidelines for naming diseases, which address concerns about stigmas and misconceptions such names can create about people, animals and regions. MORE

May. 9, 2015

World Health Organization includes five new hepatitis C drugs on essential medicines list for first time, indication to government, regulators and companies that pricey drugs should be made available at lower prices in poorer countries. MORE

May. 7, 2015

World Health Organization reports 18 confirmed Ebola cases in West Africa for latest week, lowest weekly total of new cases in epidemic so far in 2015; notes numbers are encouraging but cautions points out not all infections from virus have yet been wiped out. MORE

Apr. 29, 2015

World Health Organization's finding that herbicide glyphosate 'probably' causes cancer prompts Health Ministry in Colombia to recommend stopping controversial American-funded program that sprays the chemical on crops of coca, plant from which cocaine is derived. MORE

Apr. 21, 2015

World Health Organization acknowledges shortcomings in its response to Ebola crisis and promises to overhaul procedures for dealing with epidemics; says funding will be restored to outbreak and emergency response departments, which had shrunk in recent years due to general budget cuts. MORE

Mar. 28, 2015

World Health Organization's declaration that glyphosate, active ingredient in Monsanto weed killer Roundup, likely causes cancer in humans shows how scientific data can be interpreted differently by different organizations; agency's research was in part based on study used by Environmental Protection Agency to reverse itself and approve use of Roundup, six years after using same study to suggest that it may cause cancer. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancers says glyphosate, active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, is probably carcinogenic to humans; Monsanto, which manufactures herbicide, disputes findings. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

World Health Organization says that African Ebola outbreak could be halted by summer if international financial support continues, and that $400 million is needed to continue fighting disease through June. MORE

Feb. 21, 2015

Officials from World Health Organization and United Nations’ special envoy for Ebola express concern that anti-Ebola effort faces major budget shortfall and that new cases of disease are on rise. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

Editorial holds World Health Organization must institute long overdue reforms in wake of its barely sufficient handling of Ebola outbreaks in West Africa; assesses reforms endorsed by organization's executive board; notes it remains to be seen whether reforms will work in practice, and raises long-term issue of organization's financing. MORE

Jan. 28, 2015

World Health Organization appoints Dr Matshidiso Moeti as regional director for Africa; Moeti says she is committed to reforming office, which has long been viewed as ineffective, criticism that was validated by slow response to Ebola outbreak in West Africa. MORE

Jan. 26, 2015

World Health Organization, responding to criticism of slow and ineffective action on Ebola epidemic, backs changes to fortify its emergency response to outbreaks and other health crises. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

World Health Organization says number of people becoming infected with Ebola virus in West Africa has fallen to lowest level in months; warns, however, that lack of funding and approach of rainy season may stymie efforts to control disease. MORE

Jan. 20, 2015

World Health Organization reports that 15 serious cases of H7N9 avian flu in humans have been confirmed by Chinese authorities, with three patients dying and the rest in critical condition. MORE

Jan. 10, 2015

World Health Organization adviser Dr Helen Rees says developing and testing Ebola vaccines and their effectiveness may become more difficult as outbreak comes under greater control; two vaccines have been determined to be safe enough in tests taking place in countries outside outbreak zones, but dosages have not been calibrated and it is not known if they are effective in Africa's most heavily impacted countries. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

Critics of World Health Organization head Dr Margaret Chan contend she defers to wishes of governments and does not vigorously lead as world's doctor in chief, citing her very cautious approach to Ebola outbreak; she defends her actions on Ebola, but is seen as timid and slow in dealing diplomatically with officials. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

World Health Organization reports Ebola virus continues to spread with 2014 deaths totaling 7,905 out of 20,206 known cases; says last week Sierra Leone reported highest number of new cases in capital Freetown in past month and Guinea has increases suggesting epidemic is growing; notes, however, that overall number of cases in Sierra Leone is declining. MORE

Dec. 14, 2014

Editorial calls on global community to redouble funding for battling malaria in order to bolster progress that has been made and to move toward eliminating disease in as many countries as possible; notes that World Health Organization report about malaria considers gains against the disease as 'fragile.' MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

World Health Organization reports steep declines in malaria cases and deaths compared with 2000, but says it could worsen again in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where public health systems have been overwhelmed by Ebola virus. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

World Health Organization official says group is not likely to achieve United Nations benchmarks in battling Ebola and that year-end goals of isolating and treating all patients and safely burying the dead will remain major challenges; notes that organization has made significant progress in reversing upward trajectory of Ebola cases in West Africa. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

World Health Organization warns that Sierra Leone is set to eclipse Liberia as worst-hit of West African nations ravaged by Ebola; reports 600 new cases in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea in past week, suggesting that countries will miss December target for achieving important progress benchmarks. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

World Health Organization reports that an outbreak of plague has been recorded in parts of Madagascar. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Dr Margaret Chan, director genearl of World Health Organization, express renewed alarm about Ebola’s tenacity in Africa and focus on its potential to ravage Mali; while effort to halt virus has made progress, tone of remarks from both leaders is cautious in regard to whether or not worst-case outecomes might be avoided. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

World Health Organization says cases of paralysis caused by mutating polio vaccine have been found in South Sudan and Madagascar and that new rounds of vaccination will be conducted in both areas. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

World Health Organization reports outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease has killed at least five people and sickened more than 300 in Portugal. MORE

Nov. 8, 2014

World Health Organization releases new protocol for burial of Ebola victims in an effort to slow transmission of the disease in West Africa; Ebola victims are at their most infectious after death, and traditional burial rites that bring family members into contact with the deceased have caused 20 percent or more of new infections in those countries most affected by epidemic. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

World Health Organization leader Dr Margaret Chan criticizes drug industry at conference in Cotonou, Benin, saying drive for profit is one reason no vaccine has yet been found for Ebola; Chan also denounces glaring absence of effective public health systems in worst-affected countries. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

World Health Organization, three months after declaring West Africa's Ebola epidemic a global emergency, says new infections in Liberia appear to be declining; warms against complacency in international efforts to fight the disease. MORE

Oct. 25, 2014

World Health Organization reports that potentially fatal MERS virus, which originated in Saudi Arabia in 2012, has spread to Turkey for the first time. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Oct. 15, 2014

World Health Organization warns new cases of Ebola virus could reach 10,000 a week in West Africa by December, nearly 10 times the current rate; reports none of the three most heavily affected countries, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, are adequately prepared for epidemic; comments come in report before the United Nations Security Council, which voices fear that epidemic could renew the risk of political instability in a region barely recovering from civil war. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

World Health Organization reports that polio is surging in Pakistan, frustrating health workers who have tried to combat disease; efforts have been hindered by conflict and lack of political leadership. MORE

Oct. 4, 2014

World Health Organization issues guidance on how to collect blood of people sickened by Ebola virus but who have since recovered, in effort to access antibodies that might help others fight off infection; treatment is not considered foolproof and there are many logistical problems in carrying this out in West Africa. MORE

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